initiate

English

Etymology

From Late Latin initiātus, perfect passive participle of initiō (“begin, originate”), from initium (“a beginning”), from ineō (“go in, enter upon, begin”), from in + eō (“go”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɪʃɪeɪt/
• Hyphenation: ini‧ti‧ate

Adjective

initiate (comparative more initiate, superlative most initiate)

1. (obsolete) Unpractised; untried; new.
   • Shakespeare

     the initiate fear that wants hard use

2. (obsolete) Begun; commenced; introduced to, or instructed in, the rudiments; newly admitted.
   • Young

     To rise in science as in bliss, / Initiate in the secrets of the skies.

Noun

initiate (plural initiates)

1. A new member of an organization.
2. One who has been through a ceremony of initiation.

Translations

A new member of an organization

• Arabic: عضو جديد‎‎
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新成员

• Dutch: beginner (nl) m

• Finnish: tulokas (fi), uusi jäsen
• German: Eingeweihter m, Eingeweihte f, Initiierter m, Initiierte f
• Italian: novizio (it)

One who has been through a ceremony of initiation

• Czech: zasvěcenec
• Dutch: ingewijde (nl) m, f
• Finnish: tulokas (fi)
• French: initié (fr)

• German: Eingeweihter m, Eingeweihte f
• Hungarian: beavatott (hu)
• Italian: iniziato (it)

Verb

initiate (third-person singular simple present initiates, present participle initiating, simple past and past participle initiated)

1. (transitive) To begin; to start.
   • I. Taylor

     How are changes of this sort to be initiated?

2. To instruct in the rudiments or principles; to introduce.
   • Dr. H. More

     Providence would only initiate mankind into the useful knowledge of her treasures, leaving the rest to employ our industry.

   • John Locke

     To initiate his pupil into any part of learning, an ordinary skill in the governor is enough.

3. To confer membership on; especially, to admit to a secret order with mysterious rites or ceremonies.
   • Bishop Warburton

     The Athenians believed that he who was initiated and instructed in the mysteries would obtain celestial honour after death.

   • Spectator

     He was initiated into half a dozen clubs before he was one and twenty.

4. (intransitive) To do the first act; to perform the first rite; to take the initiative.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Alexander Pope to this entry?)

Antonyms

• (to begin): end, conclude, complete, finish

Related terms

• initiable
• initial
• initials
• initialism
• initialize
• initiation
• initiator
• initiative

Translations

to begin; to start

• Czech: iniciovat (cs)
• Dutch: beginnen (nl), starten (nl), aanvangen (nl), initiëren (nl)
• Finnish: käynnistää (fi), aloittaa (fi), panna alulle (fi)
• French: commencer (fr), démarrer (fr), initier (fr)
• German: beginnen (de)

• Ido: iniciar (io)
• Japanese: 始める (ja) (hajimeru), 取り掛かる (torikakaru), 開始する (kaishi suru)
• Norwegian: sette i gang
• Russian: инициировать (ru) impf (iniciirovatʹ), инициированный (ru) pf (iniciirovannyj)
• Swedish: initiera (sv), inleda (sv), påbörja (sv), sätta igång (sv)

to instruct in the rudiments

• Finnish: johdattaa (fi), opastaa (fi)

• German: einführen (de)

to confer membership on

• Finnish: vihkiä (fi)

• Swedish: uppta (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 开始 (zh), ^{(please verify)} 着手 (zh)

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ekestigi, ^{(please verify)} iniciati

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} iniziare (it), ^{(please verify)} cominciare (it), ^{(please verify)} presentare (it)
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} initio

Further reading

• initiate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• initiate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• initiate at OneLook Dictionary Search

---

Latin

Participle

initiāte

1. vocative masculine singular of initiātus